Thomas Kershaw (1819–1898) was a leading British pioneer of

marbleizing Marbleizing or faux marbling is the preparation and finishing of a surface to imitate the appearance of polished marble. It is typically used in buildings where the cost or weight of genuine marble would be prohibitive. Faux marbling is a special c ...

, the creation of imitation marble finishes. He was born in Standish, Lancashire and from the age of 12 served his time as an apprentice to John Platt, a Bolton painter and decorator. During this time he bought graining tools with money earned from painting pictures and developed his skills in the art of wood graining. On completion of his apprenticeship he moved firstly to Manchester, then York and finally in 1845 to London. There he was employed by

William Cubitt and Company Holland, Hannen & Cubitts was a major building firm responsible for many of the great buildings of London. History The company was formed from the fusion of two well-established building houses that had competed throughout the later decades of ...

, becoming their leading wood grainer. In the mid-1840s he left Cubitts to be independent and exhibited his imitation marble panels at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

of 1851, which won him a prize. At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855 he won a gold medal, but felt obliged to carry out public demonstrations of his craft in the exhibition hall after accusations that he was using some type of fraudulent transfer technique. On his return he bought a house in Baker Street and set up his own specialist decorating company. He was given several lucrative contracts, including one from the Royal family to marbleise the columns at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

and Osborne House, but turned down a request from the Russian Ambassador to marbleise the interior of the Imperial Palace in St Petersburg. In 1862 he won another gold medal at the London Exhibition and was elected a liveryman in the Painter-Stainers Company for thirty-eight years. In 1860 he was granted the

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of London. He died a rich man in 1898. He had married in 1857 and had a daughter.

Work

*Emperor's Room,

(1858) *Baron de Rothchild's mansion * Great Western Hotel, Paddington, London *

Dorchester House Dorchester House was a mansion in Park Lane, Westminster, London, which has had many different forms over time. The last version used as a private residence was that built in 1853 by Robert Stayner Holford. It was demolished in 1929 to make way ...

, Park Lane, London (demolished, 1929) *

Manley Hall, Manchester Manley Hall was a large house in Whalley Range, Manchester. It was a two-storey Victorian Italianate building with fifty rooms, very grandly furnished and with a fine art collection. It stood in of exotic gardens with artificial lakes and many gr ...

(demolished, 1905) Examples of his work are on show in Bolton Museum and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

External links

A set of five faux-marble painted panels by Thomas Kershaw in the Victoria and Albert MuseumThomas Kershaw Society

References

A History of the British Decorators' Association, page 9

* ttp://www.carltonhobbs.net/art/the-prince-of-grainers-and-marblers/2010/03/26/ The Prince of Grainers and Marblers {{DEFAULTSORT:Kershaw, Thomas 1819 births 1898 deaths People from Standish, Greater Manchester Faux painting Decorative arts Surface decorative techniques in woodworking